Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare events. Today, however, poor families are forced to invest more than half of their income in renting their homes, and eviction has become a daily thing, especially for single mothers. From slums to shelters, from the courts to the ghettos, Matthew Desmond spent years recording the stories of those who struggle to survive and do not give up.

Evicted takes us to Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods to learn about the odyssey of eight families on the edge of the abyss, such as Arleen, a single mother who tries to raise her two children with the $20 a month she has left after paying for her dire apartment; Scott, a peaceful nurse consumed by his heroin addiction; Lamar, a disabled person drowned by debt; Vanetta, who participates in a failed heist after seeing his working hours cut down... All spend almost everything they have on rent, and their destinations are in the hands of two owners: Sherrena Tarver, "entrepreneur" of the slums, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of Milwaukee's worst prefabricated home parks. They both hate some of their tenants and are more condescending to others, but as Sherrena says: "Love doesn't pay the bills." With or without children, everyone will receive an eviction order.